WE spent the remainder of the day in a condition of stupidlethargy, gazing after the retreating vessel until the darkness,hiding her from our sight, recalled us in some measure to our senses.The pangs of hunger and thirst then returned, absorbing all othercares and considerations. Nothing, however, could be done until themorning, and, securing ourselves as well as possible, we endeavouredto snatch a little repose. In this I succeeded beyond myexpectations, sleeping until my companions, who had not been sofortunate, aroused me at daybreak to renew our attempts at getting upprovisions from the hull.

It was now a dead calm, with the sea as smooth as have ever knownit, -- the weather warm and pleasant. The brig was out of sight. Wecommenced our operations by wrenching off, with some trouble, anotherof the forechains; and having fastened both to Peters' feet, he againmade an endeavour to reach the door of the storeroom, thinking itpossible that he might be able to force it open, provided he couldget at it in sufficient time; and this he hoped to do, as the hulklay much more steadily than before.

He succeeded very quickly in reaching the door, when, looseningone of the chains from his ankle, be made every exertion to force thepassage with it, but in vain, the framework of the room being farstronger than was anticipated. He was quite exhausted with his longstay under water, and it became absolutely necessary that some otherone of us should take his place. For this service Parker immediatelyvolunteered; but, after making three ineffectual efforts, found thathe could never even succeed in getting near the door. The conditionof Augustus's wounded arm rendered it useless for him to attemptgoing down, as he would be unable to force the room open should bereach it, and it accordingly now devolved upon me to exert myself forour common deliverance.

Peters had left one of the chains in the passage, and I found,upon plunging in, that I had not sufficient balance to keep me firmlydown. I determined, therefore, to attempt no more, in my firsteffort, than merely to recover the other chain. In groping along thefloor of the passage for this, I felt a hard substance, which Iimmediately grasped, not having time to ascertain what it was, butreturning and ascending instantly to the surface. The prize proved tobe a bottle, and our joy may be conceived when I say that it wasfound to be full of port wine. Giving thanks to God for this timelyand cheering assistance, we immediately drew the cork with mypenknife, and, each taking a moderate sup, felt the mostindescribable comfort from the warmth, strength, and spirits withwhich it inspired us. We then carefully recorked the bottle, and, bymeans of a handkerchief, swung it in such a manner that there was nopossibility of its getting broken.

Having rested a while after this fortunate discovery, I againdescended, and now recovered the chain, with which I instantly cameup. I then fastened it on and went down for the third time, when Ibecame fully satisfied that no exertions whatever, in that situation,would enable me to force open the door of the storeroom. I thereforereturned in despair.

There seemed now to be no longer any room for hope, and I couldperceive in the countenances of my companions that they had made uptheir minds to perish. The wine had evidently produced in them aspecies of delirium, which, perhaps, I had been prevented fromfeeling by the immersion I had undergone since drinking it. Theytalked incoherently, and about matters unconnected with ourcondition, Peters repeatedly asking me questions about Nantucket.Augustus, too, I remember, approached me with a serious air, andrequested me to lend him a pocket-comb, as his hair was full offish-scales, and he wished to get them out before going on shore.Parker appeared somewhat less affected, and urged me to dive atrandom into the cabin, and bring up any article which might come tohand. To this I consented, and, in the first attempt, after stayingunder a full minute, brought up a small leather trunk belonging toCaptain Barnard. This was immediately opened in the faint hope thatit might contain something to eat or drink. We found nothing,however, except a box of razors and two linen shirts. I now went downagain, and returned without any success. As my head came above waterI heard a crash on deck, and, upon getting up, saw that my companionshad ungratefully taken advantage of my absence to drink the remainderof the wine, having let the bottle fall in the endeavour to replaceit before I saw them. I remonstrated with them on the heartlessnessof their conduct, when Augustus burst into tears. The other twoendeavoured to laugh the matter off as a joke, but I hope never againto behold laughter of such a species: the distortion of countenancewas absolutely frightful. Indeed, it was apparent that the stimulus,in the empty state of their stomachs, had taken instant and violenteffect, and that they were all exceedingly intoxicated. With greatdifficulty I prevailed upon them to lie down, when they fell verysoon into a heavy slumber, accompanied with loud stertorousbreathing.

I now found myself, as it were, alone in the brig, and myreflections, to be sure, were of the most fearful and gloomy nature.No prospect offered itself to my view but a lingering death byfamine, or, at the best, by being overwhelmed in the first gale whichshould spring up, for in our present exhausted condition we couldhave no hope of living through another.

The gnawing hunger which I now experienced was nearlyinsupportable, and I felt myself capable of going to any lengths inorder to appease it. With my knife I cut off a small portion of theleather trunk, and endeavoured to eat it, but found it utterlyimpossible to swallow a single morsel, although I fancied that somelittle alleviation of my suffering was obtained by chewing smallpieces of it and spitting them out. Toward night my companions awoke,one by one, each in an indescribable state of weakness and horror,brought on by the wine, whose fumes had now evaporated. They shook asif with a violent ague, and uttered the most lamentable cries forwater. Their condition affected me in the most lively degree, at thesame time causing me to rejoice in the fortunate train ofcircumstances which had prevented me from indulging in the wine, andconsequently from sharing their melancholy and most distressingsensations. Their conduct, however, gave me great uneasiness andalarm; for it was evident that, unless some favourable change tookplace, they could afford me no assistance in providing for our commonsafety. I had not yet abandoned all idea being able to get upsomething from below; but the attempt could not possibly be resumeduntil some one of them was sufficiently master of himself to aid meby holding the end of the rope while I went down. Parker appeared tobe somewhat more in possession of his senses than the others, and Iendeavoured, by every means in my power, to rouse him. Thinking thata plunge in the sea-water might have a beneficial effect, I contrivedto fasten the end of a rope around his body, and then, leading him tothe companion-way (he remaining quite passive all the while), pushedhim in, and immediately drew him out. I had good reason tocongratulate myself upon having made this experiment; for he appearedmuch revived and invigorated, and, upon getting out, asked me, in arational manner, why I had so served him. Having explained my object,he expressed himself indebted to me, and said that he felt greatlybetter from the immersion, afterward conversing sensibly upon oursituation. We then resolved to treat Augustus and Peters in the sameway, which we immediately did, when they both experienced muchbenefit from the shock. This idea of sudden immersion had beensuggested to me by reading in some medical work the good effect ofthe shower-bath in a case where the patient was suffering from _maniaa potu_.

Finding that I could now trust my companions to hold the end ofthe rope, I again made three or four plunges into the cabin, althoughit was now quite dark, and a gentle but long swell from the northwardrendered the hulk somewhat unsteady. In the course of these attemptsI succeeded in bringing up two case-knives, a three-gallon jug,empty, and a blanket, but nothing which could serve us for food. Icontinued my efforts, after getting these articles, until I wascompletely exhausted, but brought up nothing else. During the nightParker and Peters occupied themselves by turns in the same manner;but nothing coming to hand, we now gave up this attempt in despair,concluding that we were exhausting ourselves in vain.

We passed the remainder of this night in a state of the mostintense mental and bodily anguish that can possibly be imagined. Themorning of the sixteenth at length dawned, and we looked eagerlyaround the horizon for relief, but to no purpose. The sea was stillsmooth, with only a long swell from the northward, as on yesterday.This was the sixth day since we had tasted either food or drink, withthe exception of the bottle of port wine, and it was clear that wecould hold out but a very little while longer unless something couldbe obtained. I never saw before, nor wish to see again, human beingsso utterly emaciated as Peters and Augustus. Had I met them on shorein their present condition I should not have had the slightestsuspicion that I had ever beheld them. Their countenances weretotally changed in character, so that I could not bring myself tobelieve them really the same individuals with whom I had been incompany but a few days before. Parker, although sadly reduced, and sofeeble that he could not raise his head from his bosom, was not sofar gone as the other two. He suffered with great patience, making nocomplaint, and endeavouring to inspire us with hope in every mannerhe could devise. For myself, although at the commencement of thevoyage I had been in bad health, and was at all times of a delicateconstitution, I suffered less than any of us, being much less reducedin frame, and retaining my powers of mind in a surprising degree,while the rest were completely prostrated in intellect, and seemed tobe brought to a species of second childhood, generally simpering intheir expressions, with idiotic smiles, and uttering the most absurdplatitudes. At intervals, however, they would appear to revivesuddenly, as if inspired all at once with a consciousness of theircondition, when they would spring upon their feet in a momentaryflash of vigour, and speak, for a short period, of their prospects,in a manner altogether rational, although full of the most intensedespair. It is possible, however, that my companions may haveentertained the same opinion of their own condition as I did of mine,and that I may have unwittingly been guilty of the same extravagancesand imbecilities as themselves -- this is a matter which cannot bedetermined.

About noon Parker declared that he saw land off the larboardquarter, and it was with the utmost difficulty I could restrain himfrom plunging into the sea with the view of swimming toward it.Peters and Augustus took little notice of what he said, beingapparently wrapped up in moody contemplation. Upon looking in thedirection pointed out, I could not perceive the faintest appearanceof the shore -- indeed, I was too well aware that we were far fromany land to indulge in a hope of that nature. It was a long time,nevertheless, before I could convince Parker of his mistake. He thenburst into a flood of tears, weeping like a child, with loud criesand sobs, for two or three hours, when becoming exhausted, he fellasleep.

Peters and Augustus now made several ineffectual efforts toswallow portions of the leather. I advised them to chew it and spitit out; but they were too excessively debilitated to be able tofollow my advice. I continued to chew pieces of it at intervals, andfound some relief from so doing; my chief distress was for water, andI was only prevented from taking a draught from the sea byremembering the horrible consequences which thus have resulted toothers who were similarly situated with ourselves.

The day wore on in this manner, when I suddenly discovered a sailto the eastward, and on our larboard bow. She appeared to be a largeship, and was coming nearly athwart us, being probably twelve orfifteen miles distant. None of my companions had as yet discoveredher, and I forbore to tell them of her for the present, lest we mightagain be disappointed of relief. At length upon her getting nearer, Isaw distinctly that she was heading immediately for us, with herlight sails filled. I could now contain myself no longer, and pointedher out to my fellow-sufferers. They immediately sprang to theirfeet, again indulging in the most extravagant demonstrations of joy,weeping, laughing in an idiotic manner, jumping, stamping upon thedeck, tearing their hair, and praying and cursing by turns. I was soaffected by their conduct, as well as by what I considered a sureprospect of deliverance, that I could not refrain from joining inwith their madness, and gave way to the impulses of my gratitude andecstasy by lying and rolling on the deck, clapping my hands,shouting, and other similar acts, until I was suddenly called to myrecollection, and once more to the extreme human misery and despair,by perceiving the ship all at once with her stern fully presentedtoward us, and steering in a direction nearly opposite to that inwhich I had at first perceived her.

It was some time before I could induce my poor companions tobelieve that this sad reverse in our prospects had actually takenplace. They replied to all my assertions with a stare and a gestureimplying that they were not to be deceived by suchmisrepresentations. The conduct of Augustus most sensibly affectedme. In spite of all I could say or do to the contrary, he persistedin saying that the ship was rapidly nearing us, and in makingpreparations to go on board of her. Some seaweed floating by thebrig, he maintained that it was the ship's boat, and endeavoured tothrow himself upon it, howling and shrieking in the most heartrendingmanner, when I forcibly restrained him from thus casting himself intothe sea.

Having become in some degree pacified, we continued to watch theship until we finally lost sight of her, the weather becoming hazy,with a light breeze springing up. As soon as she was entirely gone,Parker turned suddenly toward me with an expression of countenancewhich made me shudder. There was about him an air of self-possessionwhich I had not noticed in him until now, and before he opened hislips my heart told me what he would say. He proposed, in a few words,that one of us should die to preserve the existence of the others.

I had for some time past, dwelt upon the prospect of our beingreduced to this last horrible extremity, and had secretly made up mymind to suffer death in any shape or under any circumstances ratherthan resort to such a course. Nor was this resolution in any degreeweakened by the present intensity of hunger under which I laboured.The proposition had not been heard by either Peters or Augustus. Itherefore took Parker aside; and mentally praying to God for power todissuade him from the horrible purpose he entertained, I expostulatedwith him for a long time, and in the most supplicating manner,begging him in

SHORTLY afterward an incident occurred which I am induced to lookupon as more intensely productive of emotion, as far more repletewith the extremes first of delight and then of horror, than even anyof the thousand chances which afterward befell me in nine long years,crowded with events of the most startling and, in many cases, of themost unconceived and unconceivable character. We were lying on thedeck near the companion-way, and debating the possibility of yetmaking our way into the storeroom, when, looking toward Augustus, wholay fronting myself, I perceived that he had become all at oncedeadly pale, and that his lips were